


she tastes like a revolution

by ElasticElla



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/F, Femslash February, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 01:25:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9796226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: “Two shadowhunters in one night, must be my lucky day,” Maia says approaching Clary.





	

**Author's Note:**

> also for the ficathon, [go leave some prompts \o/](http://ladygawain.livejournal.com/83816.html)

“Two shadowhunters in one night, must be my lucky day,” Maia says approaching Clary. 

Clary doesn't catch the sarcasm, her eyebrows furrowing, “Two? Who was here?” 

“Loverboy and his nerd boyfriend. They thankfully left before hitting the public nudity stage.” 

“Oh,” Clary says with pretty wide eyes, her jaw dropping.

For a moment Maia regrets speaking, is sure she's about to have her Alpha's sort-of daughter weeping at the bar and demanding alcohol- and then she realizes the little shoulder shakes are from silent laughter, a grin tearing across Clary's lips.

“In the bar!” Clary says to herself, “And he was worried about his shirt…” 

One of her regulars' beer is running low, and Maia abandons the red head for a bit, making the rounds. It takes a little longer than she expects, but Clary doesn't wave her over or look uncomfortable. She's just kinda staring off into space with a small smile and doodling on a napkin. 

“So what nonalcoholic drink can I get for you?” Maia asks when she comes back, getting a wide smile. 

“I do have a really shitty fake id,” Clary tries. 

Maia snorts, and Clary adds, “A virgin strawberry daiquiri would be great.” 

“Coming up,” Maia says, and it's a simple enough drink to make, mostly mix and waiting on the loud frozen drink machine. A strawberry on the side, and she presents the drink to Clary, biting back a smile at how excited she looks. 

She goes for the strawberry first, dipping it in her drink before plopping all but the leaves in her mouth. It's cute, and Maia grabs a rag, needs to be doing something other than watching the pure joy spread through every bit of her. (She's a _shadowhunter_ , worse she's like Luke's daughter or whatever and apparently everyone falls in love with her. Maia is _not_ going to be one of them.)

Clary swallows, licking bits of red from her lips. “Thanks, this is delicious.” 

Maia's saved from answering by her phone ringing, and Clary mouths a 'sorry' before picking up. It's no matter, Maia has like thirty other customers, and Jillian always tipped well when Maia flirted with her. After Jillian, a new group of guys come in, and then there's the seelies who can't hold their liquor, and Alaric wants to talk about pack stuff, and- and- and- 

It's a quarter till one a.m., and Maia's dead on her feet, finally has a minute to look at the napkin Clary left. The three-quarters full drink had been tossed after she went, and generous tip pocketed. (Maia briefly wondered how she had any money, and then remembered it wasn't her problem, moving on to serve the next person.) 

There's a small drawing- ridiculously well done for pen on a napkin- of Maia tending the bar, and Jace and Simon making out on one bar stool. And then she realizes her hand in the picture is on the seltzer water gun, and Maia can't help a snicker. Below, in a messy scribble it says, _sorry, izzy needs me. i hope your night's good!_

Maia's lips twitch as she pockets the napkin. It doesn't… it just doesn't jive with everything she's heard about the girl or the brief moment they met before. She puts it out of her mind as she cleans up, topping off a few drinks and ringing the last call bell. It brings in a sudden flurry of orders, and Maia can't imagine this many people ordering at a mundane bar on a Tuesday night- well, Wednesday morning now. It helps not to work a typical nine-to-five job- or to have healing powers to save you from a hangover. 

Maia's getting the last person a long island iced tea when Luke appears. 

“You missed last call,” she jokes and Luke smiles, takes a seat. “You want your usual?” Maia asks, fingers hesitating over a mug. 

“Nah, I'm seeing Alaric after this.” 

Maia whistles, and Luke looks away, heartbeat speeding up a bit. “Not like that,” he says.

Maia rolls her eyes, “He's a wolf, you're a wolf. We don't have that many secrets from each other.” 

“It's too soon,” Luke says, but it comes out flat. “I don't want Clary- I'm his Alpha, I can't proposition him.” 

Maia sets a ginger ale in front of him, and Luke nods his thanks. “Look. If it really is too soon, we both know Alaric will wait as long as you need. The Alpha thing is bullshit, you two have been partners on the force for like a dozen years and it's not like he hesitates to question your decisions.” 

“He's not the only one,” Luke mutters into his mug, and Maia ignores that. 

“Clary's a big girl, she'll want you to be happy.” 

Luke's eyes narrow a bit as he looks up at her, “How do you know that?” 

Maia struggles not to roll her eyes, “She was here earlier and no, I did not serve her anything alcoholic.” 

Luke deflates, “I know you wouldn't, sorry. I can't say I'm thrilled about all the time she's spending with the shadowhunter kids, they grow up too fast and don't give a damn for safety.” 

Maia raises an eyebrow, Luke didn't usually talk about before. “Yeah?” 

He closes his eyes, “It's like you can write yourself into invincibility. You know in some part of you it isn't true, but it's a very small voice compared to turning invisible or trading identities or jumping on a building. You're a god, taking and protecting life as you see fit. And everything else- food, fun, drinking, drugs- needs to be heightened too to stay interesting.” 

Maia doesn't have a response for that, rubbing away at an old blue stain that will never come off, fucking seelies. She instinctively wants to spit out that they have nothing on turning under the full moon, emotions wild, but Luke knows that, better than any wolf. It's a sick type of relief that hits her then- that least she was only mundane before.

“Well,” she finally says, “kid tips nicely. She's welcome to drink virgin daiquiris and draw quietly in the corner.” 

Luke nods, finishing his drink and tucking a few ones under the coaster. “Good night Maia.” 

“Good luck with Alaric,” she says, and Maia chuckles under her breath when his heartbeat picks up again. 

“Kids these days, no respect,” Luke grumbles, heading out before she can say anything more. 

.

Maia sleeps through all of Wednesday morning. Her phone hasn't gone off for any pack issues, and she doesn't have work until the evening. Nearly ten hours of sleep, and she can't do any more. (It was easier as a mundane, as a wolf it feels like there's always energy burning under her skin, impatient.)

She still doesn't feel like life things yet, pulling out _Written on the Body_. So far her classics binge has been… well slow- even the good stuff- and reminding her why she loved more contemporary work so much. So maybe she was taking a little break from it, today's book was still like twenty years old so that almost counted. Sort of. 

Maia gets lost in the literature, ends up eating lunch late. After sighing at her fridge for a good ten minutes and eating some cereal, she resigned herself to grocery shopping before work. And then she has to shower and email some old friends back and then her day is done; it's somehow already time for work. 

.

Maia's halfway through her shift when Clary comes in, sketchbook in hand. Maia walks over to the corner stool, placing a coaster and Clary follows. It's an easy spot to keep an eye on, and most instinctively know not to come over here as it's Luke's unofficial place. She'll still get looks from the runes and being alone, but nothing more. 

“Hey, how are you? Luke said it's cool if I draw here?”

“Yeah. What are you drinking?” Maia asks. 

“Coke's good,” Clary says, a glass of soda before her a blink later. 

“Thanks,” and Maia nods, the cheap tippers are waving her over. It's not that Maia hates college students- it's just that she hates all the cheap ones that come in bulk Wednesdays and Thursdays. Especially-

“Good evening gorgeous, when do you get off?” 

-the fratty ones. 

Wednesday passes like any other, the loud ones leaving around midnight and a half hour later, she has the bar neat and clean again, everyone topped off. She's surprised Clary is still here, drawing away and drinking water- had switched a few hours back. 

Clary stops drawing suddenly, frowning at it. Maia finds herself before her without much thought. 

“Hey, what's up?” 

“I can't get it right,” Clary says, spinning the book around so Maia can see. It's a super realistic drawing of Luke kneeling before a lake, moon in the air, and his wolf as his reflection. 

“-give to him, I already apologized but I wanted to do something more? And I feel like he accepts all my stuff too easily because of my mom and…” Clary's voice fades away, and she sips her water. 

“You're missing a crinkle in his left ear,” Maia says turning the book back around. “It healed a little off.” 

Clary erases the ear, re-sketching it with a grin. “That's it- thank you so much!” 

“And Luke is a forgiving guy- with all of his family, not just you.” Maia doesn't add the next sentence, that Clary should do better anyways, but Clary hears it nodding seriously. 

“I'm trying to be a better person, progress has been mixed.” 

Maia can't help a snort, and Clary flushes, “Yeah I know, I fuck up all the time.” 

“Your words,” Maia says, and then someone new comes into the bar and Clary is putting some finishing touches on Luke's ear. 

Maia's busy through last call, the new person bringing in a late group of twenty for a birthday. They tip _very_ well, probably because they were all a little tipsy coming in, and Maia isn't about to complain. (It makes up for the kid that puked in the bathroom, and even if she didn't have to clean it up, she did have to smell it for like ten minutes too many.) 

Clary leaves when she's restocking from the back, notices her scent drifting away. Maia wonders briefly if it's on purpose, but she doesn't care that much, pushing the thoughts away. Everyone leaves without picking a fight, _Closing Time_ playing across the bar. It's cliché sure, but it's a good song to clean to, spinning around with a mop. 

(Clary left a twenty and a napkin, sans doodle, _until next time_.)

.

The third late night in a row she comes, everyone else has gone home, and Clary had stuck around to help clean up. Maia slides a shirley temple over to her and has to ask, “Don't you have shadowhunter things in the morning?” 

Clary frowns, stabbing a cherry. “They won't let me do anything. Aldertree doesn't even want me there.” 

“What do you want to do?” Maia asks. 

“Rescue the people Valentine still has prisoner!” Clary says, tearing a napkin to smaller and smaller shreds. “They won't entertain talk of a rescue mission or even one to kill him. And Luke says it's too dangerous without the Clave but they didn't care what the sword could have-” Clary pauses mid-sentence, ears red as her eyes flick down the empty bar. “They just don't care,” she finishes quietly. 

Maia isn't sure what she expected from the young shadowhunter, but this… she could work with this. “I heard you united the downworlders before,” Maia says. 

Clary shakes a hand at her, “That was for one night, it didn't last.” 

Maia's grin is sharp, and she leans in, “Maybe we only need one night.” 

Clary's pupils dilate, her pulse racing, and Maia smirks. “If we kill him, a rescue mission would be easy.” 

Clary blinks and swallows, “We need to get him alone somehow. He's been forcing downworlders to protect him. Also we checked where he was holding the angel, no one else was there.”

Maia blinks, “Sorry- did you- an _angel_?” 

“Yeah, he's gone now. Back, I dunno, wherever angels go,” Clary says, scooping up the napkin shreds to throw out. 

Maia shakes her head to clear it, “All right so we need a small group of well trained warriors, different species if possible. Everyone on the team has to have no chance of betraying us and willing to kill.” 

Clary's eyebrows come together at the last part, “Who wouldn't be willing to kill Valentine? I mean if _I_ am…” 

“But would you hesitate?” Maia presses. 

“No,” Clary says firmly. “He killed my mother.” 

Maia nods, and doesn't bring up Luke. She's heard all about parabatai bonds, and broken or not, it's an unnecessary risk. They have way too much history. 

“So what's your story?” Clary asks, sipping her drink, and swirling a bit in the stool. 

Maia snorts, “That's my line, you can't out-bartender me.” 

Clary pouts, “C'mon everything I know about you is from Simon.” 

Maia raises an eyebrow, and a dark blush flares in Clary's cheeks. 

“Is that right?” Maia asks. 

“Yes?” 

Maia shakes her head, it's too late for this conversation and Clary's stained red lips are looking too inviting. “Tell you what, if we actually take down Valentine, you can ask me all the questions you want over dinner.” 

Clary's grin lights up her entire face, “Yeah, okay. You're on.”

And right now Maia can't remember why Clary was supposed to be a bad idea, but she's pretty sure it's too late anyways.


End file.
